Avengers Solo #1Review

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(Private) Hawkeye!

By Joey Esposito

While it's rather ridiculous to add "Avengers" to the title of this book (see also: Avengers: X-Sanction), the fact is that this is very much a Hawkeye story (hence, the "Solo!") and a pretty entertaining one at that. Jen Van Meter gives a story reason for Clint to separate from the rest of the Avengers team for this particular mission and in the process shoves the character into rather unfamiliar territory: a detective yarn. He still gets to take aim and shoot off arrows, but ultimately Avengers Solo is about exploring a different facet to Hawkeye's skill set, and one that is directly referenced as fallible by Clint himself. Van Meter keeps Hawkeye's attitude sharp and his commitment to his mission unbreakable. It's hardly an introspective look at the character or what makes him tick, but it's fun to see him challenged in a way that we typically don't.

Roger Robinson's work suits the tone of the book, particularly the detective-style setup. Panels are laced in hard black inks, sometimes detrimentally so, but ultimately resulting in a gritty, street-level feel. There are some pages that truly shine – like Hawkeye finding the dead body in an apartment, covered in the stark shadows caused by the blinds on the window – but others, particularly the smaller, more cramped panels, struggle to remain clarity. However, the usage of Ben-Day dots as a coloring and shading technique is a nice touch to the book, calling back to the pulp-style feel that the narrative generates despite being firmly planted in the Marvel Universe.

Avengers Solo #1 also features a fun-but-brief Avengers Academy back-up story from Jim McCann and Clayton Henry, which finds the Academy headed on a mission to find the inventor of adamantium. It's unclear what, if anything, this story has to do with the Hawkeye story, but the tale remains a fun little bonus for those that can't get enough of that series.

Hopefully, adding Avengers to the title will help boost the book's sales a bit to continue Marvel's trend of Hawkeye minis.